Horse of the Year Gun Runner succeeded from coast to coast, with six Grade 1 tallies including the Whitney and Woodward at Saratoga and the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. A freshman sire, Gun Runner was represented by graded stakes winners at both Saratoga and Del Mar over the weekend.
There could hardly have been a sire more appropriate to give trainer Steve Asmussen a record victory than Tapit. The Hall of Fame trainer became North America's all-time career wins leader on Saturday at Saratoga when the Tapit colt Stellar Tap won on debut.
Queen's Plate pedigree profile: Keep Grinding
Pin Oak Stud, the Central Kentucky farm owned by Josephine Abercrombie, will disperse its remaining broodmares and weanlings and a handful of racing-age fillies at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky mixed sale on Sept. 12 this year, the farm announced on Thursday.
Silver State, who has already captured the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, will attempt to further burnish his résumé in this Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course. Not only has the Metropolitan long been considered a stallion-making race – with young winners of the race continuing to be sought after commercially as brilliance continues to be rewarded in the American marketplace – but stallions to pull off the Met-Whitney double have been on a roll as of late.
Queen's Plate 2021 pedigree profile: Stephen
Eclipse Award champion and prominent sire Bernardini has been euthanized due to complications of laminitis, the international Darley stallion operation of Sheikh Mohammed announced Friday morning.
Queen's Plate 2021 pedigree profile: Dance Some Mo
Blue hen Win Approval, a foundation mare for Live Oak Stud who produced two Eclipse Award champions to run in Charlotte Weber's red and white colors, was euthanized July 19 due to the infirmities of old age. She was 29.
Classic-placed Grade 1 winner Danza has died of an apparent heart attack at Fair Winds Farm in Waynesville, Ohio. The death of the 10-year-old son of Street Boss was confirmed by Brandywine Farm, which co-bred the horse with Liberation Farm, and by a representative of Spendthrift Farm.
